For many Cardiff City fans who made the 400-mile round trip back and forth to Brighton and Hove Albion, tonight looked like being an evening to forget.

Petrol costs, food, drink, not to mention the frustration of missing out on some live festive football.

But, for the re-arranged fixture against Chris Hughton's high-flying Seagulls a bookmaker is now offering FREE travel to any Cardiff City supporter who made the arduous trip down to the South Cost on Friday night.

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No date has yet been set for the fixture. But the 600-strong Bluebirds' army who were set to descend on Brighton's Amex Stadium will be heartened by the offer, which was revealed on social media by SkyBet, the sponsor of the EFL.

Referee Chris Kavanagh said he had no choice but to call the game off, with supporter and player safety at the heart of his decision.

He said: "Health and safety have been looking at the pitch since 5pm and the conditions have got worse in that hour and when we looked at the Met Office, it was going to get worse until around 8pm.

"It’s a very difficult decision because sometimes it can come and go but we’ve found it’s getting worse. We’ve taken into account Cardiff who have come a long distance and I’ve come from Manchester. We all want to play football but it’s not been possible today."

Cardiff assistant Kevin Blackwell had no complaints with the decision, saying: "Fans pay good money but to only be able to see half a pitch isn't right. Without doubt it was the right decision. Having said that, we've travelled and trained, put a lot of planning into this because of the Villa game on Monday and everything has gone up in smoke – but that's football and you have to get on with it."

The Football League will decide when to reschedule the match.

Sky Bet sponsorship manager David Tweed said: “It’s devastating for those fans to have made such a long trip only to have the game called off because of the weather, so we thought we’d make their journey home a little brighter, in the knowledge the rearranged fixture will been taken care of.”

Fans wishing to take advantage of the free travel should look out for more information on the club’s website in the coming days.